You will show me the
path of life;
In Your presence is
fullness of joy;
At Your right hand
are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11 )
What do we mean by
hedonism? It is, “The doctrine that pleasure is the only
good and proper goal of moral endeavor.”
The hedonism of the world is evil.
Scripture warns of those who are “lovers
of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” (2 Tim.3:4 ). But
what about Christian hedonism? Bible
teacher, John Piper, introduced this concept to me several years ago. Consider this quote, “The desire to be happy is a proper motive for every good deed, and if you
abandon the pursuit of your own joy, you cannot love man or please God.” Piper is right on target! “The
fruit of the Spirit is… joy” (Gal.5:22 ). This is what God wants His children to
experience.
Joy
is found in GOD’S PRESERVATION (v.1-4). Joy comes in knowing that our sins are
forgiven and we are on our way to heaven.
David confesses that God has saved him.
Salvation is by faith in God, and not in David’s own goodness. Apart from God’s saving activity, we have no
goodness to commend us to God. We are
saved by faith in Jesus Christ—and that is a reason to rejoice! Had we no other blessing, this is so supreme,
so sublime that it will be the subject of our worship of the Lamb of God
throughout eternity. When we have a
spiritual birth, we come into the great family of God and what a delightful
company is the fellowship of the saints!
David refers to them as “excellent
ones.” This is how we should view
our fellow believers. David said
elsewhere, “I was glad when they said
unto me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Is that your testimony?
Joy
is also rooted in GOD’S PROVISION (v.5-6).
If you can trust Him with your soul, surely you should trust Him for
your supply. Rejoice in strength for
today (v.5). We may be weak, but He is
strong. David knew that at the end of
his resources, waited the limitless provision of God. This is what Paul meant when he said, “I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me.” (Phil.4:13 ) Furthermore,
God provides serenity for tomorrow (v.6).
Besides his
portion and his cup, the Lord had assigned him a delightful inheritance. “The
boundary lines . . . in pleasant places speak of portions of land
measured by line and distributed by lot.
In other words, he compared God’s blessings to the best inheritance a person
could receive. The Lord had given him a wonderfully full life.”[1] What serenity there is in knowing that we have
an inheritance waiting for us that is “out of this world.”
Ultimate
joy is in GOD’S PRESENCE (v.7-11). This
is the consummate delight. There is a
Counselor who walks with us in all the decisions we face—a Good Shepherd who
guides us in all the directions we take.
Further, David is confident that
nothing in this world can overcome him—not even death! This is fulfilled in a relationship with Christ,
who said, “I am the Resurrection and the
Life…” (John 11:25 ). David is describing a proper hedonism. Let us put away long-faced religion! The first Christians were filled with joy and
they attracted multitudes to join them.
The invitation to salvation isn’t pictured in the Bible as a funeral,
but a wedding! John Piper says, “God is
most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
[1]John
F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible
Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor
Books, 1983-c1985), 1:804.
No comments:
Post a Comment